


I Never Knew

by lilibug



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: AU, F/M, First Meetings, Nurse!Jughead, Patient!Betty, bughead - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-15
Updated: 2017-10-17
Packaged: 2019-01-17 16:03:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12369228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilibug/pseuds/lilibug
Summary: Despite her pale skin, frumpy hair, and hospital gown, Jughead thought she was beautiful. She must have thought the same of him, even in her post anesthesia state, because she had just asked him to marry her – even though they had just met.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jughead is a nurse! Betty is a patient – She’s a little OOC due to drugs after surgery. But I thought this was a cute little AU idea! 
> 
> I’m actually a night shift nurse on an orthopedic unit, so I'm sorry if there’s boring or technical bits! I couldn’t help but have it be a little accurate. Though obviously I would NEVER get involved with a patient.

Thin, long fingers smoothed over navy fabric. He brushed some small white hairs to the ground. There were still some persistent ones sticking to the bottom of his scrub top. He didn’t bother with them, instead shooting a glare to his dog that was curled up on the couch sleeping. The shaggy dog blowing out a soft snore, as if he knew he was being watched. He really needed a new lint roller. 

He pulled his work beanie on over his dark hair, tugging it down and tucking in the end of the strands hanging in front of his eyes. He pulled his red flannel jacket on, zipping it up and grabbing his gloves. He checked that Hot Dog's water bowl was filled and left the light above the stove on for him before locking his door to his apartment. It was cold out, enough that his breath was visible, and his throat ached from the cold air. Snow was still sprinkling down after their big flurry yesterday. 

The drive to Mercy Hospital, in Riverdale, wasn’t very long at all. He lived on the edge of town in a quiet apartment complex by the river, and it only took him 15 minutes to get there. He was still driving his old beat up truck his father gave him for his 16th birthday. It was about on its last legs, but he was really stretching it. He was working on paying off his student loan before he took on a car payment. 

With the hospital coming into view, Jughead grabbed his ID badge out of the center console and flipped it to slide through the card reader at the entrance of the parking garage. The perks of working nightshift, he didn’t have to park in the lot and walk. After going around up to the third floor of the garage, he parked his truck and clipped the badge to the front of his scrub top. He slipped the mirror down, glancing at himself. The name reflected back from the badge always made him frown. 

He was still bitter about the fact they wouldn’t let him put Jughead on there. No, had to be his godforsaken actual name. He huffed a sigh, stuffing his keys into his coat pocket and trudging over to the steps and falling in love with the other nurses and aids heading in for their shift. The sun had already set, the orange glow just starting to fade behind the building. He stopped at the Starbucks inside the hospital, grabbing a coffee to drink. He liked night shift, he was a night owl anyway so this worked for him. 

He took the elevator up to his unit, orthopedics, and dropped his coat and gloves off in the locker room. He sipped his coffee, gathering his pens and then slinging his black stethoscope around his neck. Since Jughead worked at night there was no management around, so he was able to continue wearing his beanie. He went to the break room and looked briefly at his assignment for the night. Then he sat down on the old flowery couch they had in there, pulling his phone out. They always did a safety huddle before the next shift to discuss the patients on the floor. 

Blue eyes scanned his phone, answering a text he had missed from Archie earlier in the day. Jughead was scrolling through Facebook when someone plopped down next to him. 

“Hey Jug, you ready for tonight?” Veronica Lodge, one of his co-workers and also friend outside of work. She also happened to be dating his best friend, the aforementioned Archie. Coincidence? Yes, he introduced them after Veronica had stalked his social media pages and found Archie in his photos. 

He gave a shrug, “Never _really_ ready. But yeah, I’m ready to get it over with and go home and go back to sleep.” Jughead looked watched her roll her eyes, his own tracking the way she was paying with the string of pearls she always wore. Her hair was up in a bun tonight, with a flowery headband to perk up the navy she was forced to endure.

“Lucky. I have to stay up today. Me and Arch are going out of town this weekend to see his parents. Maybe I can sleep in the car?” she scrunched her face up at the idea. He gave a chuckle, sliding his phone back into the pocket of his shirt. He drummed his fingers against his pants, fingers scratching his knee. 

He liked working with Veronica though, so it would make the night go faster, having someone to talk to. They were some of the youngest working on their floor, most of the other nurse's were more middle aged or in their 30's. 

After their meeting he printed his report sheets and looked over his assignment, waiting for report from the day shift nurse. Jughead had three post up patients, two from a knee replacement and one from surgery on a shoulder fracture. He also had someone waiting for a repeat surgery on their ankle, and one who was a couple days out from a partial hip replacement. He gave a lot of pain medication to these types of patients, as anything to do with bones were generally painful. 

He went through his list of patients with the day shift nurse, stopping outside of each room and then going in to meet the patients and check if they needed something. They were on their last one, the most recent post op, the shoulder fracture. 

“Elizabeth Cooper, 24, suffered a fall on some ice and fractured her proximal humerus. She had an ORIF done, I’ve only had her an hour so she’s still pretty out of it. She's got a sling and swathe on, with coverlet dressing.” He looked at his sheet as the nurse spoke, nodding along. He underlined a few of the words so his eyes could find them quickly when needed. He wrote down her pain medications and then they stepped into the room. 

The lights were turned down, and he wrote his name on the white board under the ‘nurse’ section. Jughead looked over to the patient and felt his mouth go dry. Even with her eyes closed, blonde hair messy and fanned out on her pillow, and chapped lips he couldn’t help but find her beautiful. He busied himself checking out her oxygen levels and pulse on the machine next to her. They didn’t wake her, Jughead saying he would wait until her meds were due. 

After report he went through his patients notes on the computer, looking at what meds they had due, their pain med options, and their lab values. He decided to stop and see room 18, the shoulder patient who was only a year younger than him. He always felt slightly awkward when taking care of younger patients, he always felt more at ease with his older ones.

He entered her room after knocking gently on the door, she didn’t arouse to that. He checked her oxygen and pulse on the monitor, and checked her IV fluids. Pulling her blankets down, he glanced up to her face, she seemed to still be sleeping. 

“Elizabeth, I’m just going to take a look at the dressing on your shoulder, and feel your pulses.” He narrated what he was going to do, should she actually be awake. They were always supposed to describe what they were doing. 

Jughead unbuttoned the shoulder of her hospital gown on her right side, taking a look at the dressing there. He felt around it, feeling the temperature and noting the swelling. He buttoned her back up, fingers traveling down to where her wrist was peeking out the sling. He felt her pulse with his fingers, and checked the capillary refill on her fingertips. 

“Alright, Elizabeth, I'm going to listen to your heart and lung sounds now, okay?” he positioned his stethoscope in his ears and held it over her gown in all the spots he needed to assess her properly. Once he was done, he took a peek at her IV site in her left arm to make sure it was working properly and then walked over to the computer in the room. He charted a few things, checked her diet orders, and then went to fetch a cup of ice chips to put on her table. 

When he came back he had leant over her to place the cup on the table to her left, rather than walk all the way around the bed. Suddenly her hand shot out and fisted in his scrub top, yanking him down towards her. “You.. have GOT to be the sexiest.. man I’ve ever seen,” her voice was wavering in and out of quietness and above appropriate volume, her words slightly slurred. He chuckled at her, the glazed over look in her green eyes telling him all he needed to know. 

“Now, Elizabeth, while that might be true you can’t talk to your nurse that way.” Jughead covered her hand with his, unclenching her fingers from the material of his shirt. 

She shook her head quickly at his words and then clenched her eyes shut tightly, bringing her good hand up to her forehead. “Ohhh.. dizzy,” she moaned, head pressing back into her pillow. 

He rolled his eyes at her and put the head of her bed back a little. “Do you know where you are right now?” he questioned, crossing his arms over his chest. Her eyes opened again and he couldn’t help but glance towards them. _Green, wide, mesmerizing_ – were just a few words that popped into his head. His lips tightened in a small frown. 

“Uh, yeah, duh.” She snorted, trying to wiggle around in the bed. 

He raised an eyebrow at her, one hand gesturing for her to continue. “And where is that?”

“The hospital, silly.” she whispered at him, giggling.

“Which hospital?” 

“Umm, Greendale?” Jughead shook his head at her, lips quirking up a little. 

“Not quite, you’re still in Riverdale.” 

“Shit, don’t tell my mother that I’m here,” she groaned, bringing her hand up to her face and swiping it down dramatically. 

“Elizabeth I think you-“ 

“Don't call me that,” she shouted over him, her hand reaching out and grabbing one of his crossed arms. He grabbed her hand with his, folding it back to her side. 

“What should I call you then?” he asked simply, as he himself didn’t like his name, so who was he to judge? 

“Call me Betty.” She licked her lips, eyes drooping a little as her voice got softer. 

Jughead’s tongue reached out, licked his bottom lip. “Betty,” he tested out. Her face lighting up in a small smile. Her hand reach out to him again, clawing weakly at his crossed arms. “You can call me Jughead,” he offered in return. 

“You're so nice, will you marry me Jughead?” she proposed, her eyes slipped closed. Fingers falling from his arm, her lips parting and breathes evening out. He shook his head at her, wondering when the anesthesia was going to be out of her system. People did and said weird things after surgery, so he was pretty immune. However when a beautiful young blonde says stuff like this? He couldn’t help his heart racing a little. 

He left the room with a promise to check on her falling on deaf ears. 

He saw his other patients and dished the rounds of evening meds before grabbing a drink of water and sitting at the nurse's station. He sat across from Veronica, booting up the computer. 

“So, I just had one of my patients ask me to marry them.” Just casual conversation, right? 

Veronica snorted, the coffee she was sipping on settled back on the table. “You get marriage offers like, once week Jug.” Her eyes were still glued to the computer screen, blue light reflecting off the reading glasses she wore when working with the computers. 

“I’ll have you know that this wasn’t an old lady." 

A perfectly arched brow rose, her eyes then lifting and looking up at him across the desk. “Color me intrigued then.” 

“It was this young patient I have, around our age. She’s really attractive, despite laying in a hospital.” He was a little smug, however he left out the part about her being high off meds. 

“Well, well, well. What an interesting development.” She seemed to ponder for a moment, finger tapping her lip as she looked up to the ceiling. 

“How can we hook you up without it being totally weird?” 

Jughead rose his own eyebrows in response, reaching a hand up and scratching at his hair under his beanie. “Uh, no right answer there, Ronnie.” It was never good to look up patients after they left your care – and certainly not to give them your number. 

She shook her head at him, eyes turning devious as she smirked. “I can... look her up on social media because she’s not MY patient and then we can find out-" 

“I don’t think that's-" 

“-though she might not be working for a while now since she had shoulder surgery.” 

“- not a good idea.” 

“Maybe I can ask for her number? Or maybe we can send Archie in there as a visitor or send her flowers-" 

“Okay, enough, Ronnie.” He raised his voice a little to get her attention, lips dipping down into a frown at her. She tended to go a little crazy when it came to this kind of stuff. “I don’t even know if she’s single-" 

“Yes she is, says it right here.” She had shoved her phone in his face from across the desk. 

He leaned back a bit, glaring up at her, but he couldn’t help but take a peek down to her phone. There was Betty’s Facebook profile, including picture which she looked like a model in – all tanned skin, pink glossy lips, hair falling in waves about her shoulders. Her smile was so beautiful, she was beautiful. He felt this mouth go a little dry and he cleared his throat, shaking his head at Veronica. 

“It's not gonna happen Veronica.” He used her name in warning, going back to his work on the computer. She let out a ‘tsk' and sat back down. He knew this wasn’t likely to be the end of It though. 

He finished his charting, crossing off the meds he had given and tasks he had done on his sheet of paper. He folded it up and put it in the pocket on the front of his scrub top. He decided to go check on Betty again. 

Luckily he did because she was already halfway out of bed, still attached to her leg pumps, the IV line, and oxygen monitor. “Woah, woah, lets sit you back down.” He rushed over to her putting a hand on her good shoulder and holding her steady as she plopped back down on the bed sheepishly. He stepped back, untangling all the cords attached to her. “What were you doing getting up by yourself?”

“I'm sorry, I have to pee..” Betty's pale cheeks were now flushed red and she was chewing on her lower lip. Her free hand was clenching the edge of her gown by her knees. 

“That's okay, you’re allowed to have to pee. I guess I didn’t get a chance to explain the call button before you passed out.” He pulled the wraps off her legs, and noticed her bare feet. He walked over to the linen cabinets in the room and grabbed a pair of the hospital grey non-slip socks. Bending down he grabbed her ankle, lifting her foot up a little, fingers sliding over the delicate skin there, cool to the touch. He slipped her socks on, trying not to think anything else about her legs or ankles and how they might feel locked around his hips. 

“Alright, I’ll help you to the bathroom and push your IV pole for you.” He wrapped his arm around her left one, hauling her up. He had either underestimated his strength or her weight because she came up quickly and hard into his chest. He righted her position, letting her gather her balance. 

“Feel okay?” he looked her over, making sure she wasn’t going to pass out or fall. She nodded at him, stretching her legs a little before starting to walk to the bathroom across the room. Jughead tugged the IV pole along behind her, holding the back of her gown closed for her privacy. They made it to the bathroom and she slipped inside while he slid the door closed standing just outside.

He let out a slow sigh, leaning his head against the wood door. Closing his eyes he tried to get rid of thoughts clouding his vision, the glimpse of her naked back before he quickly pulled her gown closed. 

Jughead heard the toilet flush and he waited a moment, stepping back from the door. He heard the water faucet turn on and then a moment later, the door slid open. She was throwing a paper towel away and peeking through the opening up at him. She was chewing on her lip again.

“Could you…” she paused, the words seeming to fail her. She cleared her throat, touching the base of it before running a hand through her hair, pulling some strands behind her ear. “Could get into my bag and find my underwear?” her cheeks were a pretty flushed red, dipping down to her chest and underneath the gown. 

He chuckled a little at her embarrassment and smiled at her. “Of course,” he walked back to the bed, a green linen bag sitting on the bedside table. He looked through it, hands ruffling the different fabrics inside until he found a scrap of light blue lace that had to be underwear because it surely couldn’t be anything else. He held it up stretching it out between his fingers just to check. Yep. Cheeky. 

He shuffled back to the bathroom and knocked on the partially open door. Betty turned back from where she was trying to finger comb her hair in the mirror. He held the underwear out to her, dangling from the tip of his index finger. He rose his eyebrows, leaning against the doorway. She snatched them from his hand, avoiding his eyes. 

She looked at then in her grasp and then down to her socked feet. Her green eyes found his, her head tilting a little. “Could you just... hold onto me while I put these on? I don’t think I can balance myself just yet.” 

He nodded, “Sure.“ He then placed a steadying hand on her upper arm, fingers curling around her bicep and applying some pressure. 

She seemed a little dazed for a second before bending down a little and stepping into the underwear, slipping the fabric up her legs. As she pulled herself upright, she dipped forward and Jughead tightened his grip on her arm, pushing her upright. “Careful,” he reminded her, as her hand disappeared underneath her gown, the fabric shoved up high on her thighs.

He couldn’t stop himself from looking. 

She was finished a second later, the fabric fluttering back down around her knees. He let go of her arm then. She then turned her back to him, no longer holding the gown closed. 

He could see the whole of her back, all smooth skin peppered with freckles, only a couple inches hidden by the sling and swathe that held her arm close to her chest. He could also see that her underwear could barely be considered such. 

“Would you tie me?” he looked at him in the mirror, a small smirk on her face now. She had seen how he looked at her. 

Fingers darted out, tugging the strings on each side of the gown to meet together, overlapping so that her backside wasn’t on display anymore. He gave a little cough, guiding the IV pole behind her as she walked back to bed. Once he got her settled in and comfortable sitting upright he gestured to the ice chips. “Thirsty? Hungry?” 

She looked at the cup, tongue darting out and licking her lower lip. “I mostly just have a dry mouth." Betty was reaching out for the spoon, taking a spoonful of ice and crunching down. 

Jughead crossed his arms over one another, a hand at his mouth. He observed her, the way that the walk back and forth to the bathroom made her even more tired. As if on cue, she yawned. 

“Are you having any pain?” he questioned, glancing to her shoulders, which she were holding tightly. Her eyes flicked up to him, mouth around a spoonful of ice. She seemed to think about his question, dropping the spoon to her bedside table with a sigh. 

“Yes. It's not terrible, but it does hurt.” She seemed guilty, like she didn’t want to complain. 

“Do you want to take some pain medication?” she frowned at his words, fingers of her left hand fingering the ones on her right that she said were still a little numb. The actual shoulder is the first part to wake up from a nerve block, so he knew it was likely to only get worse. 

“I guess so... just some thing small though, I just want to try and go back to sleep. Forget this day even happened,” she trailed off. Leaning her head back against her pillow. Her eyes fluttered closed and she rubbed the side of her forehead. 

Jughead was glad that it seemed she was over that med high phase, and agreed that something small would be a good idea, they could always take something more later. 

He gathered up a cup of jello, some water and a packet of saltine crackers along with a pain pill. He encouraged her to eat both as they would help with any nausea with pain meds might cause. 

She managed to eat both while he was scanning the med in and doing a little charting while he waited. She downed the pill and then he laid her head back some, fetching a warm blanket to throw over top of her. He had given her the call button this time with a promise to come check on her in a little while. As he was turning to leave, her hand caught his arm, stopping him. 

“Thank you, Jughead,” She said, testing out the name he had given her earlier despite his badge reading ‘Forsythe'. He was a little surprised that she remembered their conversation from earlier at all. Maybe that was why she had been so embarrassed, because of the things she had said. “I really appreciate everything you’re doing.” 

He gave her a little smile, pulling his arm away and giving her hand a small squeeze before backing up towards the door. “It's my job, Betty.” 

She rolled her eyes at him. “ _Thank you,_ ” she repeated, more softly this time. Her hand falling to her chest and clutching the warm blanket against her chest. Her eyes closed and he turned the light in the room off, cracking her the door to her room. 

He stopped in the hallway, the smile on his face reflecting the happiness in his heart. He never knew he could love his job so much. 

Maybe he would see what Veronica could do to help him after all. He could tell Betty was the kind of person he wanted to get to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think? Should I write another part? 
> 
> Tumblr: lilibug--xx


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is part 2! 
> 
> Betty kind of takes care of Jughead in a little role reversal.

Jughead looked at the clock on his nightstand, the red glare of the time starting back at him hauntingly. It was 3 in the afternoon, he had worked last night and hadn’t managed to go to sleep yet. He was supposed to be back at work tonight. He brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose, letting out an exasperated sigh.

He didn’t know what was wrong. It was dark in his room (he had excellent black out curtains), and his fan was on, whirling away and providing a good buffer of sound. Hot Dog was out in the living room, having gone outside earlier, making no noise (which wasn’t unusual). He was fairly comfortable, the temperature just bordering on cool.

However, he had laid there with his eyes shut, trying to sleep since he got home at 8:30.

He reached for his phone beside his alarm clock, pulling up his contacts. He brought it up to his ear, ruffling his hair with his free hand, pushing the locks back from his face.

“Hey, Angie,” he cleared his throat a little. “I gotta call off tonight, I haven’t been to sleep yet and I just don’t think I can do that tonight.” Jughead didn’t like calling off work, always feeling guilty even when he was physically unable to get out of his bed. But this would be his third night in a row and he didn’t think he'd be able to make it through.

She told him to maybe take a benadryl or something, to help him sleep. He thanked her, hung up the phone and hauled himself out of bed. His bathroom light was bright and unforgiving when he flicked it on, his reflection in the mirror was pale, dark bags under his eyes. He frowned, opening the mirror up to search the shelves hidden behind it. His eyes glanced over the sparse little shelves, eyebrow twitching when he realized he had nothing with which to help him sleep, not even some drowsy cough medicine.

He scratched his head, wondering if he should go to the store or just lay back down. Contemplating for a moment, he ultimately decided to just suck it up and head to the store.

Jughead pulled on a hoodie overtop his t-shirt, looked down at his red flannel pajama pants and decided they were fine to wear. He slipped his socked feet into his black combat boot, just tucking the laces in. He grabbed his beanie off his dresser, tugging it over his messy hair. Stopping in the living room to give Hot Dog a pat on the head, his promise of ‘be back soon’ rewarded with a slobbery lick on the back of his hand.

The snow from the past couple of weeks had all melted now, the ground was still mushy and soft though. His boots sunk into the ground a little as he walked to his truck, and he glared down at them.

Jughead thought about which pharmacy he would rather go to. McAllen's or River's Apothecary. He preferred the family run business of McAllen's so he started up the truck with it in mind. He'd just look for a sleep aid, something with just the drowsy component.

He pulled up to the parking lot, snagging a spot close to the front sliding doors. He shuffled inside, feet dragging a little. His body felt exhausted but his brain was wired. He shoved his keys and wallet in his hoodie pocket. He walked down a couple aisles looking at the shelves for what he needed. He seemed to wonder for a bit, back and forth. He saw all kinds of medicine, all proclaiming to shorten colds and make congestion better. He didn’t see anything for sleeping. Not even any melatonin tablets or benadryl. He brought an arm up, pinching the bridge of his nose with a frustrated sigh.

“Excuse me, sir, can I help you find something?”

His heart must have skipped a beat. It was suddenly thudding in his chest as he recognized that voice. The patient he had taken care of last month, Elizabeth Cooper – Betty.

Nothing had really come of their interaction, as Jughead found it highly unprofessional. So he let it go. He had taken care of her three nights in a row, helping her with her pain control, getting her to the bathroom, helping her adjust to using her non-dominant left hand for things, and assisting with her physical therapy. They had talked about all kinds of things. He learned about her family and why she didn’t want her mother to know she was in the hospital. About how she was walking home from work, because her car had broken down, when she slipped. He learned her favorite color was pink (he wasn’t really surprised) and her favorite food was spaghetti.

She told him that she was still in school, having gotten a late start after taking a few years off after high school. She had moved in with her older sister who had just given birth to twins and was a single mother. Their parents had no plans of helping.

He had shared some if his life as well and she was infatuated with the pictures he showed her of Hot Dog. Told her about nursing school, and his friends – Archie and Veronica. He spoke about how it was just him and his sister since his father passed away in a drunk driving accident. She had grabbed his hand at that and squeezed him, her eyes reflecting the pain that must have been in his.

He had never been so sad to see a patient discharged.

Jughead turned around, hand dropping from his face. His eyes roamed her quickly, she was out of her sling now. She was back to being picture perfect, like her Facebook profile picture had suggested when Veronica had showed it to him. Blonde hair falling in waves about her shoulders, golden and glossy. Her lips were covered in a pretty shade of pink and her cheeks were a little pink too. Her eyes had lit up in recognition, a smile breaking out over her face at him.

“Jughead,” she said softly before crossing the distance between them and looping her arms around his neck, tucking her head into him and hugging him. He was a little surprised, but wrapped one arm around her waist, squeezing her gently.

“Betty,” he returned, a small little smile on his face brightening his appearance. “You look good. All healed up?” he questioned as they pulled back from each other. She was wearing a red polo shirt with dark jeans and flats. Her name tag sitting slightly askew due to their hug.

Betty’s left hand came up to touch her right shoulder, rubbing it a little. He could just see the faint edge of her incision line peeking out under the hem of her sleeve. She smiled up at him, her eyes taking in his appearance. Her smile dropped a little, eyes curious and concerned.

“Yeah, thanks. I cant say the same for you though. You look...” She trailed off and he cleared his throat, hand reaching up to rub at the back of his neck.

“I know – like shit.” She tilted her head at him, hand reaching out and touching his forearm that was dangling at his side.

“I worked last night, haven’t been able to get to sleep yet. I feel exhausted but can’t turn my brain off.” Jughead gave a little shrug. “I was looking for something to help.”

Her lips turned down into a frown and she looked over at the shelves in front of him. She shook her head a little, her hand dropping down to his wrist and wrapping around it. She tugged at him, turning to pull him behind her. “You're about two aisles off then.” he followed after her with little choice.

They ended up two aisles over, which he swore he had walked down already, but whatever. He must not have really been looking. They were standing in front of the sleep aid items, Zzz-quil, melatonin, unisom, etc. He blinked, her arm falling away from his wrist as he reached out and picked up a box of Zzz-quil dissolving tablets.

“Thanks, don’t know why I couldn’t find it.” Jughead looked over the back of the box briefly and then up to Betty. She smiled at him, though it didn’t quite reaching her eyes.

“Are you sure you should be driving home? Another customer said they had seen you wandering around for like 15 minutes just staring at nothing.”

When was that? He could have sworn he had only walked down the aisles a couple of times, tops. He scratched his head again, cheeks turning warm under her worried gaze.

“Really? I don’t recall...”

“I get off work in 10 minutes, let me drive you home. My car's still not fixed, so I would have to drive yours,” she offered, her arms crossing in front of her chest, a stern look on her face. He had only spent maybe.. a total of 9 or 10 hours with her over her stay in the hospital, but he could tell she wasn’t going to take no for an answer here.

He sighed, “Alright...” a real smile broke out on her face, eyes crinkling as she stepped closer to him.

“Perfect.”

They went up to the checkout and she rang up his purchase. He threw in a couple packs of gum and a chocolate bar for good measure. He paid and walked out to his car after her instructions to just wait in the passenger seat for her. His heart thudded in his chest at the idea of them being alone together, going to his apartment together. He leaned his head against the window, the coolness welcoming against his hot cheeks. Maybe he had a fever too? He brought his hand up to his forehead, resting the back of his hand there to feel his temperature. He was a little warm, but he had only felt like that after seeing Betty.

He leant back in his seat, gazing off across the parking lot and watching the traffic out on the street. The door opened to the truck and Betty slid in the driver’s seat, her green bag coming down off her shoulder to rest by his feet.

“That was quick,” he quipped, clicking his seatbelt in place.

“… Jughead, I told you I was going to be 10 minutes. It’s been 25. I was just getting ready to apologize,” she looked at him worriedly.

“Oh,” He blinked. What was wrong with him today? It was a good thing he called off work, who knows what kind of mistake he could have made.

“Let’s just get you home. Where to?” she asked, keys turning in the ignition where he had stuck them when he first got in to turn the heat on.

He rattled off his address, her finger coming up to tap her lip.

“Ah, I know the place. It’s right by the Bijou right?”

He nodded at her. He loved that old movie theater. It was one of the reasons he took the apartment, because it was just across the street.

He closed his eyes on the drive home, the lights from the other cars seeming to bother him. Jughead wondered what he would have done if he hadn't ran into Betty in the store. He shook his head a little.

She pulled up to the parking lot, managing to grab a space fairly close to the entrance of the building. Betty carried his bag for him and held onto his elbow as they walked across the wet pavement. Snow sprinkling from the sky was melting on contact.

Once they were inside his apartment, they were greeted by Hot Dog ambling off the couch to investigate them. Jughead was ignored for a new person to sniff and he rolled his eyes, instead flopping down on the couch and snuggling into the throw pillow. His heart was still beating fast and his stomach rumbled loudly. He groaned, wiping a hand down his face.

“Hungry? I could make you something?” Betty offered politely, sitting on her knees as she was assaulted by Hot Dog's kisses to her face. She was rubbing the shaggy fur of his back up and down, scratching between his ears. He tried to think of the food he had in his cabinets.

“Uhh, I might have some stuff to make us grilled cheese?” he wanted her to stay a little longer.

She threw him a look, one that said ‘you mean you only have cheese and bread?’ and he grinned in response. She stood from kneeling, pushing Hot Dog toward him instead and walked into the kitchen.

He watched her over the back of the couch. She opened his fridge and sighed, her head turning over to him.

“Jughead,” she said sternly, his response a shrug as he settled back on the couch.

His fridge mainly just had condiments in it. Hot Dog jumped up, snuggling his head into Jughead's lap. He patted him, wet nose pushing against his palm.

“I haven’t been to the grocery in a while."

“Typical man."

He heard her closing the door, plastic rustling, a drawer being opened and closed. The click of the flame on his gas stove, a pan settling on it. The clink of plates. He closed his eyes, thumb rubbing over the space between Hot Dog’s eyes down the back of his head and then started again.

The air was soon filled with the smell of bread turning golden in the skillet, he could hear the sizzle. Smelt the cheese as it started to melt, his mouth watering. He peeked an eye over the couch. Betty's back was to him, flipping the sandwiches over with a spatula. He let his eyes roam over her backside.

She had taken her tan coat off, red polo snug across her back. Her dark jeans were tight in all the right places, and made her ass look fantastic. And he had even seen it in even less.

Pulling himself up, he shed his boots by the door and shuffled over to the kitchen in order to lean over Betty's shoulder. His hand grazing her lower back, he peered down at the four sandwiches that were almost done. She turned towards him a little, eyes glancing up to his and then back to the pan.

“Hope you’re hungry.” her sing-song voice lilting, as she took the sandwiches out of the pan, depositing three on one plate and the final one on the other.

He frowned at her, taking the plate she offered him with the sandwiches piled high and steaming.

“I remember you telling me everything you packed in your lunch, so I just assumed...” her words trailed off, and he could see her biting her lip as she picked up her plate.

“Well, I am a growing boy, Betts.” He grinned at her, nickname slipping out. It just felt right.

She turned toward him as they headed to his small round table that was nestled in the corner. “Jug, you’re like 26?” she guessed, sitting down across from him. He took a big bite of the sandwich before answering her with his mouth full.

“ ‘m 25.” He managed around the food.

“Right, so five then.” She shrugged, her voice teasing, playful. He rolled his eyes at her.

Betty finished her sandwich as he was halfway through his second one. She had hopped up and was peering back in the fridge. “So, apple juice or chocolate milk?”

Her question catching him off guard as he tried to see around her into the fridge from his position. “What? I don’t think I have any-“

She giggled, head falling back. Hand clutching her chest. “ _I'm kidding,_ Juggie.”

He felt himself almost literally choke on his sandwich at her nickname for him. His childhood friends used to call him that. Archie calls him that. He set the rest of his sandwich down. She brought some bottled water back to the table, setting one down in front of him. Betty was still standing by him, concern written on her face as he stared at her.

“What's wro-"

He had shot up out of his seat like a rocket, grabbing her hips with his hands and backing her up towards the kitchen counter. Her mouth had snapped shut, hands clutching the front of his hoodie as he pressed against her. Jughead looked down at her. Green eyes wide, head tilted back to look up at him.

He didn’t say anything, just surged forward and kissed her. Lips pressing hard against her, one hand coming up to cup her cheek.

She pressed her lips back against his eagerly, standing up on her tip toes as she leant into his chest. He smiled against her lips, pulling back. He then pressed a series of small pecks against them, the shine of her lip gloss spread between them now. She giggled against his lips, their breath mingling together as held him down against her lips with her hands.

Things were getting a little heated and Jughead had to pull back. He tilted his head into her neck, nuzzling her there as she sighed.

“I'm supposed to be trying to sleep,” he groaned against her, lips pressing against her neck. She hummed in response, arms winding around his neck.

“I know some things we could do to tire you out...”

Jughead pulled back, and raised his eyebrows at her. Her cheeks colored, her hands playing with the hairs at the back of his neck. She leant forward, capturing his lips again in a sweet little kiss. His hands came up to her cheeks, tilting her head against him. Her skin was rosy pink, warm under the brush of his thumb. Her smile lit up her whole face, eyes gleaming.

“Its just... I never knew slipping on that ice could bring me everything I ever wanted.” Betty’s voice was tender and soft, her lips barely brushing against his. Jughead smiled against her, arms wrapping tighter around her waist.

“I think I could fall for you, Betty.”

She tsk'd at him playfully, swatting one of his shoulders. “Don't you go breaking a shoulder now.” Betty teased, their lips brushing against each other. He lifted her off her feet, backing up from the counter and spun her around in a circle, her giggle lost between their lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LET'S BE FRIENDS <3 
> 
> Tumblr: lilibug--xx


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